Talk About Tennis 2.0

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 11:19 pm Three Derby prep races today, and sons of Violence took two of them. This is the Grade III Gotham at Aqueduct. A horse that lost his rider out of the gate made a real mess of things, and the Violence-sired colt, Raise Cain, made the best of it.

I'm unspeakably offended by the name of the horse and "Sons of Violence" is almost as bad. Sheesh. Do better owners. Do better.

Okay, I'll see myself out

On the contrary! Post of the month

Courageous Copper races tomorrow at Gulfstream. 35K claiming, same level as last time, but 5 furlongs instead of 5.5 furlongs on the synthetic. Edgard Zayas will ride again. It's a field of nine. Copper will break from #4.

I don't think he can win it, but I think he can hit the board. But at quick glance, it looks like a wide open field. Copper's numbers, however, have been better than many of these in recent races.

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:23 am Courageous Copper races tomorrow at Gulfstream. 35K claiming, same level as last time, but 5 furlongs instead of 5.5 furlongs on the synthetic. Edgard Zayas will ride again. It's a field of nine. Copper will break from #4.

I don't think he can win it, but I think he can hit the board. But at quick glance, it looks like a wide open field. Copper's numbers, however, have been better than many of these in recent races.

Copper finished fourth again. He led most of the way, getting passed approaching the wire. This is becoming a pattern. But he was only 2 lengths out of first. So he ran very well. Preliminary Equibase speed figure is 81--that's a 5-point improvement over his last 2 races. I can't knock it. He continues to improve. That's all you can ask for, right? He ran a very solid race.

He was not claimed. But the second and fifth place finishers were claimed.

I'm a little behind on posting the Triple Crown prep races. I have to go back to last weekend and the Louisiana Derby run at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. Kingsbarns is a son of Uncle Mo out of a Tapit mare. He is owned by Spendthrift, trained by Pletcher, and was ridden by Flavien Pratt. This performance earned him an Equibase speed figure of 100. This race was run at 1 mile and 3/16. Kingsbarns is undefeated in three starts at three different tracks (Fair Grounds, Tampa Bay, and Gulfstream).

Derma Sotogake won the 2023 UAE Derby in Meydan last weekend. It was a brilliant performance. All in all, the Japanese horses dominated the card that day. Derma Sotogake is a son of Mind Your Biscuits out of a Japanese-bred mare who is a granddaughter of Sunday Silence.

Two Phils won the Jeff Ruby Stakes at Turfway Park. Turfway is a synthetic track, but the winner of this stakes race still gets 100 points toward the Kentucky Derby. This race is a mile and 1/8. Two Phil's is trained by Larry Rivelli.

Remember, a third-place finish in the Jeff Ruby last year is what got Rich Strike on the Also Eligible for the Kentucky Derby last year.

And here's what happened today. Forte, 2-year-old standout and winner of the Fountain of Youth in March, got up just in time to win today's Florida Derby at Gulfstream. Irad Ortiz, Jr., was aboard. Forte is also trained by Pletcher.

Meanwhile, with all of the attention focused solely on Forte, most folks' favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, today's Arkansas Derby resulted in the performance that has impressed me most this far in the lead up to the Kentucky Derby. Angel of Empire, a surprise winner of the Risen Star at Fair Grounds in February, repeated and improved by winning the Arkansas Derby. Angel of Empire is a son of Classic Empire trained by Brad Cox. He was also ridden by Flavien Pratt. So Flavien has a decision to make.

At this point, Angel of Empire is my top choice to win the Derby.

The last of the major Kentucky Derby prep races were today. All were worth 100 points for the winners, guaranteeing their spots in the Kentucky Derby fields. A second place finish in any of these three races will probably be enough to get in as well. All three races today were barnburners with very exciting finishes.

The Wood Memorial at Aqueduct was the last of today's three races, but it was the first video I found. Lord Miles, the #8 horse trained by Saffie Joseph, pulled off a MASSIVE upset after a length review of the stretch run by the stewards. Of the three horses involved in the photo finish, Lord Miles had the cleanest hands. The #1 on the inside was the primary culprit. But he finished third. So no change.

Tampa Bay Derby winner, Tapit Trice, was already in the Derby field. He piled on today with a thrilling victory in the Blue Grass at Keeneland. He got out of the gate MUCH better today, was much more forward, and made a really good move on the backstretch.

And finally, we have the Santa Anita Derby. Practical Move made it two in a row after winning the San Felipe. But what phenomenal performances by Mandarin Hero, a Japanese entry, and Skinner, who made a brave move on the second turn to make it very interesting.

The upside of this story is that Practical Move has trained with Tim Yakteen all along. He wasn't a Baffert horse moved to Yakteen's barn to sidestep Churchill rules like National Treasure, who finished fourth in this race.

The last Derby prep was today. Disarm, trained by Steven Asmussen, needed a 3rd place finish to get into the Derby. And that's exactly what he got.

Irad Ortiz on Arabian Lion is getting absolutely slaughtered online for his move in the stretch. And he deserves it.

Now we wait for the Derby defections.

Courageous Copper will run tomorrow (Friday) at Gulfstream--5 furlongs on the synthetic, claiming price of $20K, non-winners of two races. So he's dropping in class, and I would guess a claim in likely. So I figure at this point of an 18-month syndicate (month 16), Mary is looking for a win and a claim. I haven't studied the field yet--field of 7--and it will be the first time Copper races against older horses. He's only been running against horses his age. Jose Morelos will ride.

I also need to fill you in on the new syndicate for 2023-2024. We hope our first race for the new 2-year-olds will be in mid-May--a $100K stakes race where the winner will get automatic entry into a race at the Royal Ascot in Great Britain in June.